Saturday, 19 September 2015

Alternate Best Actor 1940: Edward G. Robinson in Brother Orchid

Edward G. Robinson did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying "Little" John T. Sarto also known as the titular Brother Orchid.

Brother Orchid is a slight though quite enjoyable comedy about a retired gangster trying to reclaim his crown, though nothing turns out the way he expects.

Edward G. Robinson was no stranger to playing gangsters as he originally made his name through Little Caesar. Little Sarto is a lot like Caesar, if Caesar lasted a bit longer, and lived in a nicer world to begin with. The early scenes of the film are quite interesting to basically watch Robinson play the part of Little Caesar but in a comedy. What's so great is that Robinson does not take this as an excuse to not take things seriously. Robinson isn't far off from the way he handled Caesar, other than there is just a strong innate likability he brings to Little Sarto to begin. Caesar always seemed a bit unpleasant, that's not the case for Sarto. Robinson still though would be convincing with the same performance even in a more serious minded film, as he still carries himself with the command and certain menace that he brings so effortlessly with his presence. Robinson manages to use this for the purposes of comedy quite effectively since he ends up playing everything in such a surprisingly straight fashion.

Robinson does not change his manner much that's what makes it so much fun to watch Robinson being basically Little Caesar though doing some things that are exactly fitting to Little Caesar. Little Sarto isn't really that different of a guy but in the early scenes of the film he's far more interested in where's he's going to be spending his retirement while having a very relaxed approach towards the life of the gangster. It's a great deal of fun just to watch Robinson do some pretty unassuming and non-threatening actions while still performing it as if he really was a big time mobster. There is actually really a surprising sweetness to this behavior that Robinson realizes as though Little Sarto is almost playing gangster, since he does not really have that edge that would require one to be a true mob boss. Robinson quietly shows that even though he's able to exude that tough exterior deep down he's a big softie. This is what Sarto unfortunately discovers when he attempts to reclaim his place as top dog, as his original second in command Jack (Humphrey Bogart) is not too keen on giving up what he got from Sarto's abrupt departure.

This leads to a gunfight which leaves a severely wounded Sarto who only finds refuge at a monastery full of monks. Here is where Robinson alters his performance slightly, but he does it so delicately that it absolutely works. What Robinson changes that he does start more directly going for laughs, although he was certainly getting them beforehand when not trying to do so. This is not a bad thing at all though as Robinson acts as the comic foil against the extreme straight men that are the monks played in a very calm and stoic manner. Robinson is hilarious though as he makes the gangster attitude and mannerisms all become a bit thicker as to accentuate the way Sarto just does not fit in, even after he decides to join the monks, in order to just use the place as a hide out while he plans his comeback. The way Robinson is just so off and out of place with the rest works in creating a series of funny moments. I particularly enjoy the way Robinson so quickly sounds off constant gangster speak that plays so well off against the monks who speak in a very straight forward fashion.

During his time with the brothers though Robinson does have some slight and momentary reactions that are very effective in suggesting that perhaps Sarto's beginning to see the place as a bit more than just a way for him to avoid his pursuers. Nevertheless Sarto decides to cut corners in his duties as the new novice brother, brother Orchid, by stealing milk as well as hiring a local boy to do some of his chores for him. This is eventually found out by a senior brother which leads him to announce this shame in front of the whole monastery. The moment is surprisingly heartfelt due to Robinson makes Brother Orchid's breakdown so genuine as he reveals how much he has enjoyed his time in the monastery revealing a stronger pride in his life than he ever did as a gangster. This whole setup could have fallen very flat. Robinson not only manages to make it believable that Sarto could transform himself into Brother Orchid, but also that he makes this transformation and realization as heartwarming as it is. This is wonderful work by Robinson as he turns his usual image on his head, to give a delightful performance.

I feel confident about Depp doing very well which is nice to see because he can be so talented if given the right direction, not just because of the comments Louis made, but also the comments Robert MacFarlane made as well which said the film was basically passable but with good work from Depp and the rest of the cast.

John Smith: Just watched Internal Affairs, it was very good, loved all the performances especially the one BY Tony Chiau Wai Leung. Even tough i felt the remake was better i still lovev the original. Now i just have to watch "The Killer", "Chunking Express", "Fallen Angels", "In The Mood For Love" since i have all of those available already.

Anonymous: I feel fairly knowledgeable about the Asian market but I highly recommend you ask Daniel (RatedRStar) since he is like a master of the market as pretty much every Hong Kong film that was reviewed on this blog minus Leslie Cheung, as well as plenty of the bonus reviews were requested by him.

For some reason I cant see Youth getting Michael Caine a nomination, the film just looks too artsy to be taken serious by the academy.

I think Fassbender will do well, I reckon he ll create a sort of Jesse Eisenbergs Social Network performance in that he ll be a three dimensional jerk. Redmayne is the one I am worried about, even though I thought he did well enough in Theory, I don't think this one will work, I can easily see Redmayne getting like a 2 from Louis and being the performance that sinks the year again like with 2012 and 2014 best actor where one weak link stands out.

JackiBoyz: I know I said that Fassbender could get a 5, though that's due to similarities to Oyelowo last year. I'll be extremely pleased if he got a 4.5 for the role, as I do have higher expectations for Macbeth.

Anonymous: Louis likes Fassbender a great deal, so that isn't the reason why Michael feels that way. He said before that he wasn't completely sold on Fassbender's performance and the last 5 minutes are quite forced, apparently.

Possible 5s for LeadAlicia Vikander in The Danish Girl and Testament Of YouthBlanchett and Mara in CarolSaoirse Ronan in BrooklynBrie Larson in RoomCarey Mulligan in Suffragette (Though I do think, she might be the least likely)Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years

I think Michael Fassbender is a great actor, but based on the trailer I'm not a huge fan of the approach he and the film seem to be taking to the character. He looks less like the arrogant douchebag that Jobs really was and more like a full-on super villain.

Having seen all of these rankings and the like, I have completely altered my Oscar winners list. I knew something was wrong when Gary Cooper was in the top 10. I can give them if anyone wants to see them.

Anonymous: I honestly bought La Vie en Rose n a whim and was blown away by her. I saw Scofield a couple years ago in high school, and loved him in it, along with Hiller, Shaw, Hurt, York, and Wells. Sadly, he is not in my top 10 nominees, as he ranks at 12th. Cotillard ranks at 7th, though.

Anonymous: My main guilty pleasures are Gary Cooper in sergeant York and Jennifer Jones in Duel in the Sun. And of course there is Sinatra in FHTE and The Man with the Golden Arm. There is definitely more.

I would recommend any film that has Choi Min Sik leading it, he usually gives great performances and carries a film well, Mother is quite a good film as well with a great leading performance by Kim Hye-Ja.

What kind of films r u looking for from Hong Kong?.

@JackiBoyz: I would not call myself an expert on Hong Kong films I am afraid, I just happen to see a fair few that were nominated at the HK awards.

As for supporting, my main ones Louis did not like are O'Brien in The Barefoot Contessa, Charles Bickford in The Song of Bernadette, Anne Revere in National Velvet, and George Chakiris in West Side Story.

I will eventually see several more movies with Oscar nominated performances. Here are the ones I own, but still need to see.

Geraldine Page in Hondo (Look forward to)

Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (LFT)

Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise in Forrest Gump (Don't care to see)

Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption (LFT)

Kim Basinger in LA Confidential (LFT)

Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile (Not sure)

Jude Law and Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain (Mixed, mostly due to Zellweger)

I actually really love From Here to Eternity, it feels like a true classic best picture winner with Montgomery Clift just being so darn amazing =D, I cant really defend Franky too much but, I liked him a little more I guess than Louis lol.

I should say I also loved Stalag 17 as well but I just cant give Holden the win over Clift, I just cant do it, Clift just did something so powerful that even though Holden was so venomous and entertaining, I really cant even come close to having Clift lose lol.

Eisenberg might take more than one viewing to appreciate. Before watching the film, keep in mind two things; First, pay attention to his eyes. That's a key to seeing what he adds to the character. Second, remember that the majority of the film is told through secondhand pre-trial deposition and not from what Zuckerberg actually says. That's the key to see what the role truly is.

Well, Basinger is the least impressive of the L.A. cast, but the rest of the film is flawless enough to make up for her.

Forrest Gump is shit, but you can at least learn from it if only to watch for a snapshot of 90's POV of Baby Boomer nostalgia.

The Blind Side has no merit whatsoever, avoid at all costs.

The Green Mile has not aged well, and no matter what anyone tells you, there is no such thing as the "Magical Negro" trope done right. It's always going to be racist and manipulative.

Captain Phillips is actually kind of overpraised as a film, but Barkhad Abdi is sublime. He should have won in a walk. Hanks... well, I guess he's just not my "thing", but I get why so many others love him here more than I understood with Gump or Philadelphia.

Shawshank lives up to its reputation, so I'd call it an essential viewing.

Luke and Robert: I have a great interest in Page (even though I have only seen The Rescuers), so I will probably end up liking her style regardless.

I hear a lot of praise for Abdi. Is he your winner of the 5 nominees that year?

Duncan is an actor who interests me as well, but not as much as Page. Sadly, the movies I have seen him in are trash (Air Buddies stands among the worst I have ever seen).

I bought Shawshank because I made a deal with a friend that if I watch that and Inception (his favorite movie, which I still need to see), he will watch Gone with the Wind. It is from this movie that I heard of Gilda, my first film noir.

In all honesty, I have taken great interest in Basinger. It seems that I like actresses (this excludes Page) that are not very well liked. I will probably end up loving the movie and her.

I watched a bit of Gump in school for a film class, since "everyone wanted to watch it. Not impressed with what I saw. Most likely will be my new worst BP (Platoon takes the spot for some reason (Sheen, maybe). Now I am also hesitant to see Philadelphia, but I made it my goal to see every nominated performance.

Bullock seems to have the reputation of being the "worst Best Actress Winner". What are your thoughts on that and who would your winner from that year be?

Ruthiehenshallfan99:My winner for 2013 Supporting is Ben Foster in Ain't Them Bodies Saints and I love his performance in Lone Survivor, as well as Fassbender, Abdi and McConaughey (Wolf Of Wall Street).

For 2009, MULLIGANNNNNNNNNN! :)

Bullock's capable of greatness, even though she doesn't show it on a regular basis. I thought she was fantastic in Gravity, but she was just fine in The Blind Side.

ruthiehenshallfan99: My 2013 Supporting is Fassbender in 12 Years A Slave. Foster is also amazing in Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Lone Survivor, Abdi and McConaughey (WOWS).Mulligan is my 2009 win for Best Actress.I think that Bullock was just give me an Oscar please in that film. I did love her in Gravity and liked her in Speed.

Abdi was my win for the entire year, and honestly it wasn't very close. The nominees weren't exactly my thing wither. Fassbender didn't stick with me like I thought he would, Cooper I didn't hate like the others but wasn't over-the-moon towards, Hill get more irritating with each viewing, and didn't really buy Leto outside of his last two scenes. Outside the nominees, the only other performance I have any real enthusiasm for is Ben Foster's tender work in Ain't Them Bodies Saints.

Bullock... wasn't good in it, that's for sure. A lot of hammy "Sawthawn" accenting, smarmy attempts at warmth, and sort of aides the film's saccharine tone. There was one or two moments where she was with McGraw that were decent, but it's not enough. My win is Carey Mulligan, though there's a few un-nominated performances I need to still see.

Jones is maybe a 3 or 3.5, which is very high or this. Despite her low placement on my overall Best Actress nominees list, I still like her. The only one I may not like is Diana Wynyard. Jone is, without a doubt, very over the top, but I tend to like those kind of performances. I like being entertained. As for the movie, I love it. Not as much as I used to, but it still is a favorite (I have a lot of favorites). The ending is still... interesting to say the least.

Cooper: 2.5 or 3. Cooper actually ranks among my top 20 favorite actors, though I still don't love him as much as some people. He has some good moments, but they do take a while to get there. He is in my bottom 10 worst BA nominees, but I still like him. (I only dislike of them, and Lewis Stone does not even count anymore) The movie is oddly a favorite, but that may change on a second viewing.

Bogart - 3(He's very straight forward as just a gangster of the simplest sort, and he's not really given much to do. He does well with what he has though)

GM:

Perhaps to the first question.

Sothern - 4(Quite enjoyed her performance as she has a sweet chemistry in her scenes with Robinson, and she manages to make something quite endearing about her character's particularly unassuming manner. I particularly like how she interacts with Robinson, and Ralph Bellamy in a way in that it never feels like she's playing either of them, and simply likes both them.)

Luke: From your reaction to Louis giving Mulligan a 5 for FFTMC and this, I would have to guess she is a favorite.

Robert: When it comes to accents, I don't really care. Though I do think Vivien Leigh did them very well in GWTW and ASND. Some are very distracting though (Brando in Sayonara, The Teahouse of the August Moon, and The Young Lions).

I have seen Bullock in Gravity and I thought she was incredible. The movie itself was almost a favorite, but George Clooney had to ruin that. And there are several more Clooney films I will need to see as well. Not only with his nominated performances, but any film with a nominated performance he is in, and Best Picture nominees. Joy. Also, Having recently seen Apollo 13, I find it very amusing that Ed Harris had a small role in Gravity.

The main reason I changed My Best Actress lists is because I had Bullock's performance in Gravity down at 90th, the worst place. Not sure what I was thinking that day, but luckily, she (and several others) are placed much higher.

Ruthiehenshallfan99: It might just be me, but I'm happy with anyone getting a 5, regardless of my opinion of it and Mulligan's my 3rd/4th favourite actress right now and have loved her since her one-off Episode 'Blink' in Doctor Who. :)

Luke: Hope she becomes a favorite of mine as well. Sadly, it is hard for "modern actresses", or living ones for that matter, to become one of my favorites. Of those not from the Classic Era, Paige O'Hara, Jodi Benson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Marion Coltillard, Amy Adams (She is most likely to leave), and Ruthie Henshall (this explains my username) are the only ones in the Top 100. Mulligan seems to have a lot of potential to make it in there, but she first needs to make it in the Top 250. I still wonder how I found the time to do that.

Luke: She seems to have been like a Vivien Leigh (my favorite actress) here. She was a general unknown until she suddenly received immense (and very deserving) acclaim (La Vie en Rose). Like Leigh, it was a gamble, since neither were considered "Banakble". Anyways, I hope to love her in Inception, as well! That will be my second Cotillard movie.

It's hard to say about the senior Chaney as his early death came before he firmly made the transition to a sound actor, he could have been lost in the shuffle as many were. I ponder if he would have continued on as a makeup artist if he stopped being a prominent actor.

Luke:

Haven't seen enough to have any real thoughts. As I don't think I've seen a single winner so far.

Hmmm maybe they watched Hardhome(Dinklage's submission) saw that they should have given it the directing win, and that they should have nominated Kit Harington instead so they voted for Dinklage. Alright I gotta stop grasping at straws.

I'm with Robert on season 5 the more you look at it the more you see it was a whole slew of empty promises. I'll give it Jon Snow's story line and most of Cersei's. Arya's worked but was not especially dynamic. Stannis's and Sansa's had some great acting, but it was all build up without almost no payoff outside of Theon. Daenerys was par for in terms of her post season one stories, and Dorne was pretty terrible outside of Bronn and Prince Doran.

Johansson - Lost in Translation - 2.5(The whole film itself does very little for me. I try not to use boring too often when describing a film I dislike, but that's the case with the film for me. I've tried to watch it multiple times, and it always falls into a series of mostly arbitrary scenes with just a few more stable moments that are either out of place over the top comedy or a sad conversation. Bill Murray was able to get slightly above it just due to his natural charm, but that was not the case for Johansson who I don't feel has any natural charm. Not that I feel she's actively bad, but just falls into the films existence.)

Louis I am not sure if someone else asked you this before, but if they have could Luke possibly find this question and if it wasnt asked before could I ask.....you know Gone with the Wind, you said it was a very strong film but with a few problems, what were those few problems?

Hey I know that it's off-topic, but since this story's just breaking now and most of you don't know what I look like, I just want to make it clear that I am NOT the Michael McCarthy that just murdered a 2 year old girl and worships demons.

Anyway, I really cant think of any problems really with Gone with the Wind, I I actually did see The Rains Came just to see if its special effects were better than Gone With The Winds Atlanta sequence.

Heres a question for you all that I am curious about now that GWTW was mentioned, out of all the best Special effects winners, which would you say was the worst winner with special effects that weren't that good even by the standards that there was???

What Dreams May Come is like so fake lol even as a child when I saw it I thought it looked like shit lol.

As for classic films I have seen I actually think pretty much all of them were really good lol.

Thunderball would probably be my least favorite special effects winner from the classic era because, underwater sequences were not new at all lol as 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea had really good ones heck even Crash Dive had one, and the jet pack scene and the final boat chase scene just look like obvious green screen lol.

I think Gone With The Wind is a great film, but as Calvin stated in his reaction its not quite flawless. Of course there is the of the time elements, which frankly could have been worse. Hattie McDaniel for example makes Mammy feel like a character not just a stereotype. That's not the case for Prissy though who is a sore spot in the almost spotless first half. The second half as well, although still quite good, I do think somewhat lags in comparison, where I've always felt the first half flies by.